And for this also he was admirably qualified, as, independently of his enthusiasm in the pursuit, and his intellectual adaptation for such a task as that of collecting the fragments of a past existence, and out of these educing the forms and characters of the creatures to which they had belonged-a work in which he showed himself equal to the most distinguished palæontologists of the day, he possessed an amount of experience derived from the earliest eastern fields of prehistoric life to which they could not lay claim. In the course of his investigations he visited the drift of Amiens, the caverns of southern France, and those of Sicily. He also, in the autumn of 1864, made a voyage to Gibraltar in company with Professor Busk, the eminent naturalist and anatomist, for the purpose of exploring its caves, in which not only the fossilized bones of extinct animals were discovered, such as mastodons, cave-lions, cave-bears, and elephants, but those of man himself. This journey, however, terminated his life as well as his scientific inquiries. On returning to England through Spain, exposure to the weather tried his constitution so severely that he was unable to rally from its effects, and he died in Park Crescent, London, on the 31st of January, 1865, being only fifty-five years old. Such was Dr. Hugh Falconer, a man whose manysided mind this brief sketch can but imperfectly delineate. In every department of natural science, and the departments of knowledge connected with them, he was completely versed. A perfect master of geology, botany, and zoology, he was also an excellent ethnologist and archæologist, while in literature he was not only well acquainted with the classical but oriental languages. Having died a bachelor, he left no children to succeed him, and it was unfortunate that his busy life allowed him no leisure to construct such a work as might have shown the amount of his acquirements, and been a lasting monument to his fame. His two principal publications, of which, however, the labour was shared with others, were—I. “Fauna Antiqua Sivalonis, being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills, in the North of India" (in conjunction with T. Cautley), Lond. fol. 1846-49; and, 2. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fossil Remains of Vertebrata in the Museum of Bengal (in conjunction with H. Walker). Calcutta, 8vo, 1859. Besides these, he contributed several papers to the chief scientific societies, especially the Geological and Philosophical, which are published in their Transactions. | Webster gave him instructions in reading, writing, and arithmetic. He used to say that this was the whole amount of his school education. It appears that he possessed, even in early youth, an ardour of genius, and a zeal in the acquisition of knowledge, which in a great measure supplied his deficiencies. In his poem of the Shipwreck he evidently alludes to his own attainments in the following lines: "On him fair science dawned in happier hour, Awakening into bloom young fancy's flower; But soon adversity, with freezing blast, The blossom withered and the dawn o'ercast; Forlorn of heart, and, by severe decree, Condemned, reluctant, to the faithless sea; With long farewell, he left the laurel grove, Where science and the tuneful sisters rove.' When very young he was torn from his self-pursued studies, and entered as an apprentice on board a merchant vessel belonging to Leith. He afterwards became servant to Mr. Campbell, the author of Lexi. phanes, who was purser of the ship to which he belonged, and who, finding in him an aptitude for knowledge, kindly undertook to give him some instructions in person. He subsequently became second mate in the Britannia, a vessel in the Levant trade, which, on her passage from Alexandria to Venice, was shipwrecked off Cape Colonna, on the coast of Greece. Only three of the crew were saved, and Falconer was of the number. The event furnished him with the material of a poem, by which it is probable his name will be for ever remembered. The poet was at this time about eighteen years of age. In 1751, when two or three years older, he is found residing in his native city, where he published his first known work, a poem, Sacred to the Memory of His Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales. He is said to have followed up this effort by several minor pieces which he transmitted to the Gentleman's Magazine. Mr. Clarke, the editor of a respectable edition of his poems, points out The Chaplain's Petition to the Lieutenants in the Wardroom, the Description of a Ninety-gun Ship, and some lines On the uncommon Scarcity of Poetry, as among these fugitive productions. Mr. Clarke has likewise presented his readers with a whimsical little poem, descriptive of the abode and sentiments of a midshipman, which was one of the poet's early productions, and offers some reasons for supposing that he was the author of the popular song, Cease, rude Boreas. Little is known of Falconer during this period of his life except that he must have been making conFALCONER, WILLIAM, author of The Ship-siderable additions to his stock of knowledge and wreck, a poem, was born in Edinburgh about the ideas. His poem The Shipwreck was published in year 1730. His father was a barber and wig-maker 1762, being dedicated to Edward, Duke of York, in a well-known street called the Netherbow, where brother of George III. This composition displays a he ultimately became insolvent. A brother and degree of polish and an array of classical allusions sister of the tuneful Falconer-the only individuals which could only have been acquired by extensive who stood in that relation to him-were born deaf reading. It was at once placed in the first rank of and dumb; and the latter, on account of her infirmi- descriptive poetry, where it has ever since continued. ties, was a constant inmate of the Royal Infirmary of "The distant ocean," says an eminent critic, "and Edinburgh, some time after the beginning of the its grand phenomena have employed the pens of the present century. The father of the poet was a most eminent poets, but they have generally procousin-german of the Rev. Mr. Robertson, minister duced an effect by indefinite outlines and imaginary of the parish of Borthwick; so that this humble bard incidents. In Falconer we have the painting of a was a very near relation of the author of the History great artist, taken on the spot, with such minute of Scotland, and also of Lord Brougham and Vaux. fidelity, as well as picturesque effect, that we are Old Falconer, being reduced to insolvency, was chained to the scene with all the feelings of actual enabled by his friends to open a grocer's shop; but terror. In the use of imagery Falconer displays being deprived of his wife, who was a prudent and original powers. His sunset, midnight, morning, active woman, his affairs once more became deranged, &c., are not such as have descended from poet to and he terminated his life in extreme indigence. poet. He beheld these objects under circumstances in which it is the lot of few to be placed. His images, therefore, cannot be transferred or borrowed; they have an appropriation which must not be dis The education of young Falconer was of that humble kind which might have been expected from his father's circumstances. A teacher of the name of turbed, nor can we trace them to any source but that of genuine poetry." Another writer remarks, "The Shipwreck is didactic as well as descriptive, and may be recommended to a young sailor, not only to excite his enthusiasm, but improve his knowledge of the art. It is of inestimable value to this country, since it contains within itself the rudiments of navigation: if not sufficient to form a complete seaman, it may certainly be considered as the grammar of his professional science. I have heard many experienced officers declare that the rules and maxims delivered in this poem for the conduct of a ship in the most perilous emergency form the best, indeed the only opinions which a skilful mariner should adopt." Against such a poem it forms no proper objection that much of the language, being technical, is only perfectly understood by a class. By his dedication the poet gained the notice and patronage of the Duke of York, who, it will be recollected, was himself a seaman. Almost immediately after the poem was published his royal highness induced Falconer to leave the merchant service, and procured him the rank of a midshipman in Sir Edward Hawke's ship, the Royal George. In gratitude, Falconer wrote an Ode on the Duke of York's Second Departure from England as Rear-admiral, which was published, but displays a merit more commensurate with the unimportance of the subject than the genius of the author. It is said that Falconer composed this poem "during an occasional absence from his messmates, when he retired into a small space formed between the cable tiers and the ship's side." In 1763, the war being brought to a close, Falconer's ship was paid off,-long before he had completed that period of service which could have entitled him to promotion. He then exchanged the military for the civil department of the naval service, and became purser of the Glory frigate of 32 guns. Either in the interval between the two services, or before his appointment as a midshipman, he paid a visit to Scotland, and spent some time in the manse of Gladsmuir with Dr. Robertson, the historian, who, we are told, was proud to acknowledge the relationship that existed between him and this self-instructed and ingenious man. Soon after this period Falconer married a Miss Hicks, daughter of the surgeon of Sheerness Yard. She has been described as "a woman of cultivated mind, elegant in her person, and sensible and agreeable in conversation." It is said that the match was entered into against the will of her parents, who, looking only to the external circumstances of the poet, thought her thrown away upon a poor Scottish adventurer. Notwithstanding this painful circumstance, and there is reason to fear real poverty besides, the pair lived happily. Falconer endeavoured to support himself by literature. He compiled a Universal Marine Dictionary, which, from its usefulness as a book of reference, soon became generally used in the navy. Like most other literary Scotsmen of that period, he was a zealous partisan of the Bute administration, and endeavoured to defend it against the attacks of its jealous and illiberal enemies. For this purpose he published a satire, called The Demagogue, which was more particularly aimed at Lord Chatham, Wilkes, and Churchill. We have not learned that it was attended with any particular effect. Falconer at this time lived in a manner at once economical, and highly appropriate to his literary character. "When the Glory was laid in ordinary at Chatham, Commissioner Hanway, brother to the benevolent Jonas Hanway, became delighted with the genius of its purser. The captain's cabin was ordered to be fitted up with a stove, and with every addition of comfort that could be procured, in order that Falconer might thus be enabled to enjoy his favourite propensity, without either molestation or expense" (Clarke's Life). In 1769 the poet had removed to London, and resided for some time in the former buildings of Somerset House. From this place he dated the last edition of the Shipwreck published in his own lifetime. That Falconer must have possessed the personal qualities of a man of the world, rather than those of an abstracted student or child of the muses, seems to be proved by Mr. Murray, the bookseller, having proposed to take him into partnership. He is supposed to have been only prevented from acceding to this proposal by receiving an appointment to the pursership of the Aurora frigate, which was ordered to carry out to India Messrs. Vansittart, Scrofton, and Forde, as supervisors of the affairs of the Company. He was also promised the office of private secretary to those gentlemen, a situation from which his friends conceived hopes that he might eventually obtain lasting advantages. It had been otherwise ordered. The Aurora sailed from England on the 30th of September, 1769, and, after touching at the Cape, was lost during the remainder of the passage, in a manner that left no trace by which the cause of the calamity could be discovered. It was conjectured that the vessel took fire at sea; but the more probable supposition is that she foundered in the Mosambique Channel. The widow of Falconer (who eventually died at Bath) resided for some years afterwards in his apartments at Somerset House, partly supported by Mr. Miller, the bookseller, who, in consideration of the rapid sale of the Marine Dictionary, generously bestowed upon her sums not stipulated for in his contract with the author. Mr. Moser, whom we have already quoted, mentions that he once met her walking in the garden, near her lodging, and, without knowing who she was, happened, in conversation, to express his admiration of the Shipwreck. She was instantly in tears. "She presented me," says Mr. M., "with a copy of the Shipwreck, and seemed much affected by my commiseration of the misfortunes of a man whose work appears in its catastrophe prophetic." They had never had any children. "In person," says Mr. Clarke, "Falconer was about five feet seven inches in height; of a thin light make, with a dark weather-beaten complexion, and rather what is termed hard-featured, being considerably marked with the small-pox; his hair was of a brownish hue. In point of address, his manner was blunt, awkward, and forbidding; but he spoke with great fluency; and his simple yet impressive diction was couched in words which reminded his hearers of the terseness of Swift. Though he possessed a warm and friendly disposition, he was fond of controversy, and inclined to satire. His observation was keen and rapid; his criticisms on any inaccuracy of language or expression were frequently severe; yet this severity was always intended to create mirth, and not by any means to show his own superiority, or to give the smallest offence. In his natural temper he was cheerful, and frequently used to amuse his messmates by composing acrostics on their favourites, in which he particularly excelled. As a professional man, he was a thorough seaman; and, like most of that profession, was kind, generous, and benevolent." FARQUHAR, JOHN. This remarkable char1 Letter by Joseph Moser, European Magazine, 1803, P. 424. [acter, who went to India a penniless youth and re offered him alms, supposing that he was a reduced gentleman starving in poverty. His relations, however, were too wise to neglect such a rich kinsman, let his dress and eccentricities be as annoying as they might, and he was often invited to their tables. But while he thus saved himself the expense of the day's provender, he was not the less careful for the morrow, and rolls or pieces of bread found their way into his pocket to furnish the next day's breakfast or dinner. His hosts were too wise to notice such abstractions, and in the end were no losers by their short-sighted ness. turned a millionaire, was the son of poor parents, | treme destitution, and in several cases some of them and born in Crimond, Aberdeenshire, in 1751. In early life he went to India as a cadet in the Bombay establishment, and in the voyage was a chum of the late General Kerr. A dangerous wound in the hip, which affected his health and occasioned lameness, disqualified him for the military service, and by the advice of his friends he removed to Bengal, where he became a free merchant. Either his original tendencies, or the confinement occasioned by his wound, made him turn his mind to close study, in which chemistry and its practical application was the favourite pursuit. It was upon this that the foundation of his immense fortune was laid. The manufacturing of gunpowder in the interior at Pultah being defective, Mr. Farquhar was selected by Lord Cornwallis, the governor-general of India, to aid in rectifying it, and this he did so effectually as to secure the confidence of his superiors, and gradually to obtain the management of the concern, until at last he became the sole contractor with the government. Thus he rapidly rose to wealth and distinction, and won the particular favour and confidence of Warren Hastings; and that this rise was merited he showed by his close application, extraordinary mental vigour, and activity. He also evinced, by his habits of penuriousness, that he could keep a good hold of the wealth that flowed in so abundantly upon him. After years of labour he returned from India with a fortune estimated at half-a-million, the greater part of which was profitably invested by Mr. Hoare, his banker, in the funds. On landing at Gravesend on his return to England, such was the appearance of this Indian Crœsus, that no pickpocket however hungry would have thought him worth a search. His clothes were threadbare and could scarcely hang together, while his whole appearance was that of a pauper on his way to the workhouse. He took the outside of the coach to London to save expense, and his first visit was to his banker; but on asking to see Mr. Hoare, the clerks, who saw him covered with dust and dirt, treated him with hauteur, and obliged him to wait as a petitioner in the cash office. On Mr. Hoare passing through it, he exchanged a few words with the supposed mendicant, and was thunderstruck to find that this was no other than his great Indian customer. Farquhar drew only £25 and took his leave. He then went to the house of a relation, a baronet, and there took up his residence; but his poverty-stricken appearance was an eyesore and annoyance to the whole establishment. At last, a great Christmas entertainment was to be given in the mansion, in consequence of which his relative, a week previous, hinted the propriety of improving his costume, and recommended a Bond Street tailor who would drape him in the newest and most approved fashion. Indignant at this aspersion of his favourite costume, and the audacity of such interference, Mr. Farquhar immediately packed up his trunk, ordered the servant to call a coach, and took his departure. He then settled himself in Upper Baker Street, where his house was soon characterized by its forlorn appearance; the windows were uncleaned, the approach dirty and neglected, while the only menial of whom the establishment could boast was an old woman. His own favourite room was a sanctuary which she was not allowed to enter, or a brush or broom to profane; the floor was littered with books and papers, where they were thrown and allowed to lie, when their service was over; and the most active part of its furniture was an old pan or pipkin, in which he usually cooked his Brahminical meal of rice. His neighbours were alarmed at this appearance of ex While Farquhar was thus saving in the common necessaries of life, his mountain of money was not allowed to lie idle. He became a partner in the great agency house in the city having for its title Basset, Farquhar, & Co.," and purchased the late Mr. Whitebread's share in the brewery. With part of his wealth he purchased estates, but the bulk of it was invested in stock, and allowed to increase on the principle of compound interest. Every half year he drew his dividends, his mercantile profits, and his rents, and purchased in the funds, so that his capital with every year was steadily and rapidly increasing. But the most wonderful of his mercantile transactions was in the case of that gorgeous Aladdin palace, Fonthill Abbey. In 1822 that splendid edifice with all its rich treasures was announced for sale, and while the public mind anticipated the whole wealth and aristocracy of Britain as bidders at the auction, the land was amazed to learn that Mr. Farquhar-that most frugal man and impersonation of poverty-had purchased the whole by private bargain for £330,000. Occasionally also he resided afterwards in the abbey, like a living sermon upon the vanity of its grandeur, until the fall of its tower in December, 1825. The remaining wing of the older mansion he converted into a woollen manufactory. In this strange manner Mr. Farquhar held onward in his career until its course was terminated, astonishing the world by his vast wealth, but still more by his penurious habits. Whatever he touched seemed to turn into gold; but this, though he was able, he was unwilling to enjoy, so that his Midas-like famine was his own deliberate choice. But he was no ordinary miser; and while hoarding scraps of victuals and saving pence and farthings, he could freely part with hundreds of pounds in acts of charity and benevolence. Although slovenly in dress and disagreeable in the usages of the table, he could yet be courteous and gentlemanly in his manners and conversation. He was an accomplished scholar and well versed in the classics, and although disinclined to correspondence, when he prevailed upon himself to write, his style was terse, elegant, and correct. In mathematical, chemical, and mechanical science he also showed remarkable proficiency, while his conversation was rich, animated, and varied. But the possession of these endowments only increased the general odium occasioned by his insane love of money, as compared with his capability for higher and better pursuits. What were his religious opinions even the most intimate of his friends could not ascertain, but it was suspected, from his mode of living, and his admiration of the pure and abstinent precepts of Brahminism, that he was at least a half-convert to the Hindoo creed. It was also said that he offered to devote £100,000 in founding a college in Aberdeen on the most enlarged plan of education, from which, however, the subject of religion was to be excluded, but which the legislature refused to sanction, so that the plan was abandoned. After having thus continued to be a wonder to society, John Farquhar was suddenly withdrawn from its gaze. On the 5th of July, 1826, he had taken an airing in his carriage, and returned to his house in the New Road, opposite the Regent's Park, at seven in the evening, and retired to rest between the hours of ten and eleven. At eight in the following morning his servant, according to custom, took up breakfast to his master in his bedroom, but found him a corpse. Suddenly and at midnight the rich man's soul had been required of him, and he had apparently died instantaneously and without a struggle. As Mr. Farquhar died intestate, his fortune, supposed to amount to a million and a half, was divided among seven nephews and nieces. FERGUSON, DR. ADAM, was the son of the Rev. Adam Ferguson, parish minister of Logie Rait, in Perthshire, descended of the respectable family of Dunfallandy; his mother was from the county of Aberdeen. He was born in the year 1724, in the manse of his father's parish, and was the youngest of a numerous family. He received the rudiments of instruction at the parish school; but his father, who had devoted much of his time to the tuition of his son, became so fully convinced of the superior abilities of the boy, that he determined to spare no expense in the completion of his education. He was accordingly sent to Perth and placed under the care of Mr. Martin, who enjoyed great celebrity as a teacher. At this seminary Ferguson highly distinguished himself, as well in the classical branches of education as in the composition of essays; an exercise which his master was in the habit of prescribing to his pupils. His theses were not only praised at the time of their being delivered, but were long preserved and shown with pride by Mr. Martin, as the production of a youthful scholar. In October, 1739, Ferguson was, at the age of fifteen, removed to the university of St. Andrews, where he was particularly recommended to the notice of Mr. Tullidelph, who had been lately promoted to the office of principal of one of the colleges. At St. Andrews there is an annual exhibition for four bursaries, when the successful competitors in writing and translating Latin obtain gratuitous board at the college table during four years. Ferguson stood first among the competitors of the undergraduate course for the year he entered the college. At that period the Greek language was seldom taught in the grammar-schools in Scotland; and although young Ferguson had thus honourably distinguished himself by his knowledge of Latin, he seems to have been unacquainted with Greek. By his assiduity, however, he amply regained his lost time; for so ardently did he apply himself to the study of that language, that, before the close of the session, he was able to construe Homer; nor did his ardour cease with his attendance at college, for during the vacation he tasked himself to prepare one hundred lines of the Iliad every day, and facility increasing as he advanced in knowledge, he was enabled to enlarge his task, so that by the commencement of the succeeding session, or term, he had gone through the whole poem. This laborious course of study enabled him to devote the succeeding years of his attendance at college to the attainment of a knowledge of mathematics, logic, metaphysics, and ethics. From St. Andrews, on the close of his elementary studies, Mr. Ferguson removed to Edinburgh to mix with, and form a distinguished member of that galaxy of great men which adorned the northern metropolis about the middle of the 18th century. Nor was it long before his acquaintance among those who were thus to shed a lustre over Scotland commenced, for soon after his arrival in Edinburgh he became a member of a philosophical society, which comprehended Dr. Robertson, Dr. Blair, Mr. John Home the author of Douglas, and Mr. Alexander Carlyle. A society composed of young men of abilities so eminent, it may easily be believed, was an institution peculiarly well adapted to promote intellectual improvement and the acquisition of knowledge. This society afterwards merged in the Speculative Society, which has been the favourite resort of most of the young men of talent who have been educated in Edinburgh during the last hundred years. "In his private studies" (we are informed by one of his most intimate friends) Mr. Ferguson, while in Edinburgh, devoted his chief attention “to natural, moral, and political philosophy. His strong and inquiring unprejudiced mind, versed in Grecian and Roman literature, rendered him a zealous friend of rational and well-regulated liberty. He was a constitutional Whig, equally removed from Republican licentiousness and Tory bigotry. Aware that all political establishments ought to be for the good of the whole people, he wished the means to vary in different cases, according to the diversity of character and circumstances; and was convinced, with Aristotle, that the perfection or defect of the institutions of one country does not necessarily imply either perfection or defect of the similar institutions of another; and that restraint is necessary, in the inverse proportion of general knowledge and virtue. These were the sentiments he cherished in his youth; these the sentiments he cherished in his old age." Mr. Ferguson was intended for the church, and had not pursued the study of divinity beyond_two years when, in 1744, Mr. Murray, brother to Lord Elibank, offered him the situation of deputy chaplain, under himself, in the 42d regiment. In order, however, to obtain a license as a preacher in the Church of Scotland, it was necessary at that time to have studied divinity for six years, and although the fact of Ferguson having some slight knowledge of the Gaelic language might have entitled him to have two of these years discounted, still no presbytery was authorized to have granted him his license. He was therefore obliged to apply to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, when, in consideration of the high testimonials which he produced from several professors, a dispensation was granted in his favour, and having passed his trials, he obtained his license as a preacher; immediately after which he joined his regiment, then in active service in Flanders. In a short time he had the good fortune to be promoted to the rank of principal chaplain. Mr. Gibbon has declared that the manoeuvres of a battalion of militia, of which he was colonel, had enabled him to comprehend and describe the evolu tions of the Roman legion; and no doubt Mr. Ferguson owed his knowledge of military affairs, by which he was enabled to give such distinctness and liveliness to his descriptions of wars and battles, to the experience which he acquired while with his regiment on the Continent. Nor did his service prove less beneficial to him by throwing open a wide and instructive field of observation of the human character, and imparting a practical knowledge of the mainspring of political events. On the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle Mr. Ferguson obtained leave of absence, when he visited his native country. At home he spent his time partly in Perthshire, wandering about in comparative idleness, enjoying the beautiful scenery which surrounded his father's manse, and partly in the capital, where he renewed his acquaintance with the friends of his youth. About this period he solicited the Duke of Athol for the living of Caputh, a beautiful and retired parish near Dunkeld, in Perthshire; he was, however, unsuccessful in his application, and it was owing perhaps to this disappointment that he did not ask the living of Logie Rait, on the death of his father, which took place shortly after. Having rejoined his regiment, he seems thenceforward to have abandoned all intention of undertaking a parochial charge. Indeed his talents did not peculiarly fit him for the office of a preacher; for although he had acquired a great facility in writing, his sermons were rather moral essays than eloquent discourses. This, in a great measure, disqualified him for becoming a favourite with a Presbyterian congregation, in which so much always depends on the preacher's capacity to excite and sustain a spirit of devotion among his hearers, by the fidelity, earnestness, and energy of his exhortations, and the fervour of his prayers. Although thus unfitted by the nature of his genius to shine as a preacher, Mr. Ferguson's great abilities, his polished manners, and the benevolence of his disposition, peculiarly fitted him for taking a prominent part in literature and in private society. | Dr. Ferguson's manner as a lecturer:-"The doctor's mode of communicating knowledge was firm, manly, and impressive, but mild and elegant; he was mild, but justly severe in his rebukes to the inattentive and negligent. One day that he was engaged in that part of his course that treated of the practical application of the moral qualities which he had before described, and was speaking of the folly of idleness and inattention to the business in hand, some thoughtless young men were whispering and trifling in the gallery. 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'please to attend; this subject peculiarly concerns you.'' In the year 1776 Dr. Ferguson answered Dr. Price's production on civil and religious liberty. The ground on which he differed with Dr. Price was on the applicability of his doctrine to society and to imperfect man. We have an early notice of Dr. Ferguson's being engaged in the composition of his History of the Roman Republic in the following valuable letter, addressed by him to Edward Gibbon, dated Edinburgh, 18th April, 1776:-"Dear sir, I should make some apology for not writing you sooner an answer to your obliging letter; but if you should honour me frequently with such requests, you will find that, with very good intentions, I am a very dilatory and In the year 1757 Mr. Ferguson resigned the chap-irregular correspondent. I am sorry to tell you laincy of the 42d regiment, after which he was employed for upwards of two years as private tutor in the family of the Earl of Bute; and in the year 1759 he was chosen professor of natural philosophy in the university of Edinburgh; which chair he retained until the year 1764, when he obtained the professorship of moral philosophy-a chair much better suited to his genius, and to the course of study which he had pursued. In 1766 he published his Essays on Civil Society. The object of this work is according to the favourite mode of the literary men with whom Ferguson associated to trace man through the several steps in his progress from barbarism to civilization. This, which was his first publication, contributed not a little to raise Mr. Ferguson in public estimation, and the university of Edinburgh hastened to confer on him the honorary degree of LL. D. In the same year he revisited the scenes of his youth, and delighted the old parishioners of his father by recollecting them individually, while they were no less proud that their parish had produced a man who was held in such estimation in the world. During this year also he was married to Miss Burnet, from Aberdeenshire, the amiable niece of the distinguished Professor Black, of Edinburgh. In order to render his lectures more useful to his pupils, Dr. Ferguson about this time published his Institutes or Synopsis of his Lectures. Dr. Ferguson continued to enjoy the literary society of Edinburgh, interrupted only by the recreation of cultivating a small farm in the neighbourhood of the city, until the year 1773; when he was induced by the liberal offers of Lord Chesterfield, | nephew to the celebrated earl, to accompany him in his travels. After a tour through most of the countries of Europe, Dr. Ferguson returned in 1775 to the duties of his chair, which, during his absence, had been ably performed by the well-known Dugald Stewart. This relief from his academical duties proved not only highly advantageous to Dr. Ferguson in a pecuniary point of view, but contributed considerably to his improvement. His lectures on his return were not only numerously attended by the usual routine of students, but by men of the first rank and talents in the country. We have the testimony of one who, although young at the time, seems to have been well able to appreciate his talents, as to that our respectable friend Mr. Hume is still declining in his health; he is greatly emaciated, and loses strength. He talks familiarly of his near prospect of dying. His mother, it seems, died under the same symptoms; and it appears so little necessary, or proper, to flatter him, that no one attempts it. I never observed his understanding more clear, or his humour more pleasant or lively. He has a great aversion to leaving the tranquillity of his own house to go in search of health among inns and hostlers. And his friends here gave way to him for some time; but now think it necessary that he should make an effort to try what change of place and air, or anything else Sir John Pringle may advise, can do for him. I left him this morning in the mind to comply in this article, and I hope that he will be prevailed on to set out in a few days. He is just now sixtyfive. "I am very glad that the pleasure you give us recoils a little on yourself through our feeble testimony. I have, as you suppose, been employed, at any intervals of leisure or rest I have had for some years, in taking notes, or collecting materials for a history of the destruction that broke down the Roman republic, and ended in the establishment of Augustus and his immediate successors. The compliment you are pleased to pay, I cannot accept of even to my subject. Your subject now appears with advantages it was not supposed to have had, and I suspect that the magnificence of the mouldering ruin will appear more striking than the same building when the view is perplexed with scaffolding, workmen, and disorderly lodgers, and the ear is stunned with the noise of destructions and repairs, and the alarms of fire. The night which you begin to describe is solemn, and there are gleams of light superior to what is to be found in any other time. I comfort myself that, as my trade is the study of human nature, I could not fix on a more interesting corner of it than the end of the Roman republic. Whether my compilations should ever deserve the attention of any one besides myself, must remain to be determined after they are farther advanced. I take the liberty to trouble you with the inclosed for Mr. Smith (Dr. Adam Smith), whose uncertain stay in London makes me at a loss how to direct for him. You have both such reason to be pleased with the world just now, that I hope you are pleased |